a nature blog of south-east Victoria, mostly Gippsland

Tag Archives: intellagama lesueurii howittii

There is a place in this world called the Land of Gipp, an enchanted land many will say. In this land the locals whisper in hushed tones that a green dragon lurks in the cool valleys of the forested hills. It is said that it lives on land but will take to water if it feels hungry. People say the male dragon has a throat of fire but no one has known a single person to be harmed by it. In fact, those who have seen it with there own eyes say it is friendly but very, very shy and will dive in the water if it sees a human approaching.

The magical Land of Gipp

So, what is this mysterious green dragon? I was curious. But where do I start my search for such a beast when the Land of Gipp is so big? Speaking with an old villager one day he said that many people call it the Water Dragon and that he himself had once caught a glimpse of it while fishing on a river bank when he was a child. When I asked him to describe it he told me “It had piercing red eyes with large sharp spines running from the top of its head down the length of its emerald green back. From across the river bank it saw me and it rushed to dive in the water but as it did so I saw its fiery throat. That sight has stayed with me forever”. When I asked this man if he knew where he saw this creature he did not know as it was over 70 years ago and his memory was fading.

I now knew roughly what it looked like and that it can be found in and along rivers so this was some help to begin my search.

I started my travels from the western end of the Land of Gipp looking for a river to begin my search for this puzzling creature. The western part of Gipp has only small amounts of forest, the trees cleared by farmers so they have enough grass to raise their cows, and the rivers here were small and few so I decided to push on to the misty mountains I could see on the far horizon.

For what seemed an eternity I eventually reached the mountains and entered large areas of steep forest where the trees reached to the sky like enormous hands.

It is said here in the Land of Gipp that the largest flowering trees in the world grow and after what I saw I believed them as it seemed like the trees were never ending in height. After a while I came across a small bubbling creek lined with thick ferns which had trunks the thickness of my body and towered over my head, shading out almost all the sunlight. I had a drink and refreshed my face in the cool stream and then had a thought. If there’s a creek then it should hopefully flow downhill into a larger creek, then maybe a river. This might be the place to find my dragon.

I began travelling back downhill again, this time keeping to the creek.

It had started as a trickle, then began jumping and crashing over rocks before joining with another creek and rushing as one down through the dense forest to join with a mighty river in the valley, just as I had suspected. The sun was close to setting so I set up camp in a small clearing and found some delicious wild fruits to eat. In the fading light I walked along the river peering at the bank hoping for a glimpse of the curious animal but it was nowhere to be seen. I decided to return to camp and get some sleep as I had been walking all day.

The next day I went for another stroll along the edge of the river. This time thesun was higher and shone on the bank revealing many large rocks along it’s edge and in the middle of the river.

I expected to see as much as the day before, nothing, so I had a quick search up and down the river and then turned around to head back to camp once more. Suddenly I heard a small splash from near one of the large rocks in the water but when I looked there was nothing to be seen. I slowly sat under a small wattle tree, mostly hidden from view and waited. I sat there for nearly an hour looking at the river when to my right I heard something moving in the leaves only metres from me. Then it stopped. I wasn’t scared at all as I knew if it was the dragon it would be friendly. Then, in the blink of an eye, I saw a green and orange flash almost a metre long scuttle down the bank and crash into the water. Was that the dragon? I wasn’t sure.

I sat there for a while longer searching the water and land when I caught something moving amongst the rocks heading for the river’s edge. Suddenly, a light green reptile about 80cm from it’s head to the tip of it’s tail emerged from out of the water and onto a fallen tree branch. I was shaking with excitement! Here was the mighty dragon I had hoped to see for so long and it was in full view!

It then moved onto the muddy bank amongst some vegetation and there I got a closer look. I could see that the scaly skin on it’s throat was a magnificent orange, yellow and black colour. This must be what people were saying about it’s fiery throat. And yes, there were the spines running from it’s head to it’s back as well as the fiery red eyes.

I opened my backpack and pulled out my Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia. There it was on page 410, the Gippsland Water Dragon Intellagama lesueurii howittii.

FACT: The Gippsland Water Dragon is a real reptile which lives in Gippsland in southern Victoria, Australia. It can grow up to 1 metre in length and lives along rivers, lakes and even along rocky beaches. Only males have the bright orange-yellow (and sometimes blue) throat and a light green body. Females are smaller and are mostly light and dark grey and both males and females have faint stripes, mostly on the tails. It is harmless to humans and they eat all kinds of things from fruits and leaves to fish and yabbies. Incredibly they can stay underwater for up to 1½ hours! In New South Wales and Queensland the colour of this lizard changes. There they have darker stripes and the male has red patches on his throat and belly as well as a dark line through the eye.

Keep an eye out for the spectacular Gippsland Water Dragon next time you’re near some water in the Land of Gipp, I mean Gippsland.

This is the first part of a regular ‘Land of Gipp’ series. These stories are targeted towards young kids and the aim is to portray nature with a sense of wonder and mystery. Hopefully this encourages them to get out of the house and explore! Please share this with any children you know. See also one of my previous postsHuman:nature where the inspiration and reason for this series originated.

This is part 3 of a photo essay on Gippsland’s unique reptiles, this time to include dragon and monitor (goanna) lizards.

Although not highly diverse as much of the rest of Australia, particularly the arid parts of the continent, Gippsland’s dragon lizards (family Agamidae) include a handful of interesting species. Their distribution extends throughout the Gippsland region and each has specific habitat and diet requirements.

On the coastal plain of Gippsland you are likely to come across the well camouflaged Jacky Lizard Amphibolurus muricatus, particularly in the drier woodlands and coastal parts of the region where it can be found on the ground or perched on branches. It is found in the coast and ranges of SE Australia from South Australia to south east QLD.

Jacky Dragon. Fernbank, Vic.

This species is relatively common in open woodlands and coastal scrub and can be easy to miss when walking through these areas as it blends in well with its surroundings. Growing to a total length of almost 400mm it is very similar to the much smaller Mountain Dragon Rankinia diemensis which also occurs in the region. Jacky Dragons can be identified from this species by the inside of their mouths being bright yellow as well as having no enlarged spines at the sides of the tail base. Mountain Dragon’s mouth is blue inside and they have small spines at the sides of the tail base.

Jacky Dragons have a peculiar way of communicating with each other which include complex movements such as head bobbing, arm waving, push ups, body rocking, tail flicks and colour changes. When disturbed they sometimes run upright on their strong back legs to escape at speed.

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The Mountain Dragon, as its name suggests, is typically found in high country but can also extend to the foothills and some parts of the nearby coastal plain.

As with the Jacky Dragon they are very well camouflaged and difficult to detect due to their ability to change their colour to their surroundings. Mountain Dragons feed almost primarily on small insects found in leaf litter and low vegetation of dry woodlands. I have often seen them in the high country perched on the top of small termite mounds feeding on termites. This is a small dragon and can grow to a total length of up to 200mm.

Mountain Dragon feeding on termites. Note the way it changes colour to its surroundings.

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When travelling along rivers and large streams in Gippsland you are often aware of frequent splashes in the water. This is often due to the presence of the large Gippsland Water Dragon Intellagama lesueurii howittii, a subspecies of the Eastern Water Dragon which is common along the east coast of Australia and is a semi-aquatic species.

Male Gippsland Water Dragon. Yallourn, Vic

Female or juvenile Water Dragon. Yallourn, Vic

Gippsland Water Dragons inhabit rivers, streams and sometimes rocky intertidal areas of the coast. They frequently perch on rocks, logs and branches overhanging the water and will often use these for a quick access to the water to hunt or escape predators, similar to the freshwater turtle. They have a strong swimming ability and is reputed to be able to remain underwater for over an hour! It feeds on a variety of terrestrial and aquatic species which includes insects, aquatic organisms, small vertebrates such as frogs, lizards and mice as well as fruits and berries.

Water Dragons look almost like a swimming snake when they take to the water.

Gippsland Water Dragon males can grow to almost 1m in length and weight up to 1kg. Males have a brilliant colour pattern in the breeding season which includes a bright orange and green blotched neck and green overall body colour with striping on the tail. The Eastern Water Dragon male typically has a reddish pattern on the neck and chest, a dark patch behind the eye and more prominent stripes and the tail and back. It also tends to lack the green body colour of the Gippsland subspecies. Several feral populations of the Eastern Water Dragon have been found in South Australia and Victoria, including Gippsland (Yallourn), presumably escapees from reptile breeders.

An Eastern Water Dragon male showing red throat and belly and vivid patterns on the face and back. This is a member of a ‘feral’ population at Yallourn, Vic.

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The Lace Monitor Varanus varius is a large species of goanna found throughout Gippsland but is becoming increasingly rare in the western part of the region. As such it is listed as threatened in these parts. In central and eastern Gippsland, including the high country, Lace Monitors are still quite common in forest and woodland and will often hang around campsites or rest stops looking for scraps. Individual can have a large home range of up to 1-2 km² in summer but will remain almost dormant in winter. They are semi-arboreal and will often climb trees to raid nests of birds and mammals and will often use large hollows to shelter in.

Lace Monitors are very adept at climbing using their large claws. Heyfield, Vic.

Lace Monitors are one of the biggest goannas in Australia and males can grow to a total length of over 2m. Their name comes from the network of stripes on the body and neck which can vary in colour and pattern. The typical overall colour is dark grey with a complex series of creamy-yellow spots often merging into stripes. The neck and underparts are cream with dark grey stripes or blotches. Some individuals have a blue tinge to the body, especially the throat.

Another species, Gould’s Sand-Monitor Varanus gouldii, has historically been recorded from far east Gippsland but this hasn’t been seen for decades and it apparently wasn’t a common species in this area.

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Dragons and monitors probably evolved on the same lineage as snakes very early in reptile evolution in the Cretaceous period. In fact, monitors are the only lizard to share the forked tongue with snakes which they use to smell scents and it is thought that these two are closely related.

Characteristic forked tongue of the monitor lizards

Although not as common as Gippsland’s skinks, the dragons and monitors of the region are always a pleasure to see.